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Friday, August 2, 2013

Don't Get Caught In A "Booby Trap" - World Breastfeeding Week 2013

Stock photo provided by Public Domain Pictures.net

In a culture that encourages breastfeeding, many of us feel like we are set up for failure. On one side, us moms hear that our milk is "liquid gold" that provides not only nutrition, but "built-in vaccines" for immunity, and helps inhibit a higher IQ. However, there are other forces that lead us to think differently.

Even before the birth of our children, we are handed pamphlets, samples of formula, and "necessary" supplements for baby (like vitamin D drops if we so happen to choose to breastfeed), which claim that they can provide adequate - if not, better - nutrition.

This describes my encounter with the medical field. As I had mentioned in my previous post, I had every intention of exclusively breastfeeding my children. When I should have received support, I was told that I was simply "not good enough" to feed my children. Even on the first day, my baby had been given a bottle of formula because he would not nurse longer than 10 minutes. My belief that my body was purposefully designed to give my child his nourishment, was simply no match for Abbott & Baxter.

"Most moms are not making it past the first few weeks of breastfeeding because they are being sabotaged daily by cultural and institutional barriers — or as we call them, the “booby traps!” Think about it. Why, all of a sudden, for the first time in millennia, do women fear that they are not capable of producing enough milk for their babes? Why do we hear so many stories of women who “couldn’t” breastfeed, or that it was hard, or painful? Why are so few women making it to the recommended goals? Have our breasts mutated? Have our babies mutated? Of course not!" - Best For Babes.com

How do we help remove these pressures, not only for friends and family, but for moms that we encounter daily?

Honestly, I wish that the sneers and comments about "taking my milking business somewhere else" or "keeping my exposed tits for the bedroom" (yes, those were the exact phrases I have encountered...) were instead replaced with a small token of praise. Additionally, I wish that I did not give much credence to my formula-pushing doctors.

Last year, during World Breastfeeding Week, I came across a website with incredible information about breastfeeding and supports moms all over the breastfeeding spectrum. I was amazed that this site congratulated the moms who continue to feed or have only breastfed for a couple of hours.

In addition to the large amount of information and support, Best For Babes has their own Nursing In Public (NIP) Hotline. By making a small donation $3 donation to Best For Babes to help keep their NIP Hotline Alive, you will get a 10 pack of their "Thank You for Breastfeeding! We're cheering you on, Babe!" cards.

On the reverse side, there is phone number to let moms know there is always someone to talk to if they face harassment. You can store these cards these in your purse or wallet and hand out these words of encouragement when you encounter a nursing mom in public. If she feels discouraged, she will know to call the Nursing-In-Public Hotline.

Photo courtesy of Best For Babes

There are other ways to keep the Best For Babes mission going, you can become a sponsor, volunteer your time, join their running team, snag a button for your website or blog, and more! Click here for more info.

You can purchase exclusive Best For Babes products from their online store. Check out this beautiful Moby wrap! By purchasing items such as this, you are helping fund Best For Babes outreach programs.

Photo courtesy of Best For Babes

If you are a parent who has questions or is considering breastfeeding or know someone who is, please visit Best For Babes. Additionally, check out the wonderful blogs that are linked up below who are showing their support for World Breastfeeding Week.

Have you been to the Best For Babes website yet?

What did you learn or find most interesting?

This is not a paid post, and I did not receive any form of compensation for posting. Links above are not affiliate links.

18 comments:

This irks me too and I cringe when I hear a woman say she couldn't breastfeed as it's so rare for a woman to truly not be able to. I breastfed all my babies for a year minimum, even with cracked, bleeding nipples and the pain. I plan on nursing my youngest until he's at least 2, or longer if he chooses. One of the biggest issues being overlooked when it comes to breastfeeding now, that I had to deal with because he wasn't gaining weight are ties; lip and tongue ties. I'm now curious as to why it's becoming so common (1) and (2) why is it being overlooked?

I have never been to that website before. It looks like they have a lot of great information! They even have a post on what to do if you are harassed for nursing in public! That is so amazing, I will be giving the website URL to my pregnant friends.

I haven't been to Best for Babes yet but I think cultural (community in general) support plays such a huge role. I come from a country where breastfeeding is norm and it was a huge shock for me when I moved to the U.S, had my son and was met with such taboo around the subject.

Thanks for posting. Due to a medical condition I have we are supplementing for his sake but it is so discouraging when everyone keeps bringing up how much easier bottles would be fulltime. A little encouragement goes a long way

I have not yet heard of the best for babes website. But, as I am nearing the end of my pregnancy and preparing to breast feed my baby I am so glad that I learned about this website. With my daughter I was embarassed to breastfeed outside of our home, I was pushed by her pediatrician to start solids at 4 months old, etc. All of this is what I believe led my milk to dry up by 9 months, which devasted me. As I prepare for baby #2 I have learned a lot and my attitude is way differe.t I am thankful for sites like best for babes that encourage breastfeeding :)

I am so glad that my town is supportive of breastfeeding! All the moms I know here in our small town breastfeed their babies and many do extended nursing. I've nursed in stores, in parks, at the pool, at the beach, in church and have only ever gotten encouragement. Our health nurses are big on promoting it and we have many advocates here

I remember having a little trouble getting my milk to let down but I was fortunate enough to have a doctor that simply encouraged me to breastfeed more to get the milk in. Even now I'm having some trouble with breastfeeding because of working in a mint factory. But still my doctor encourages breastmilk even if the mint is a little irritating. I do chase with a bit of formula so he will get extra calories to gain weight for now, we are working on getting that out of there. I can't imagine a doctor encouraging anything else!

Maybe I'm wrong, but I would think there would be plenty of moms who would not appreciate being handed one of those cards because they were breastfeeding in public. I think it would just make them feel like it's obvious to everyone in the room that they're nursing and that everyone's paying attention to them because it's odd or unusual. I probably wouldn't be mad, but if I'm nursing in public I would much prefer that people just go about their business and let me go about mine, recognizing breastfeeding as totally normal and not really noteworthy.

I really wish someone would have told me what an emotional roller coaster breast feeding was going to be. It's just hard. There's no other way around it. Even if we hadn't had latch issues and all the other terrible things that had happened, it would have been difficult. I would have loved to know that I had access to a breastfeeding hotline!

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Alanna is a stay-at-home-mom of three little boys. Addicted to fluff, and all other things "green"...and yes, this does apply to food too ! Want to contact me? E-mail me at leettlehandsandfeet (at) gmail (dot) com